University of Connecticut OpenCommons@UConn Honors Scholar Theses Honors Scholar Program Spring 5-2-2019 Decentralization and the Provision of Public Services: A Case Study of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan Mishaal Afteb University of Connecticut - Storrs, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://opencommons.uconn.edu/srhonors_theses Part of the Asian Studies Commons, Other International and Area Studies Commons, and the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Afteb, Mishaal, "Decentralization and the Provision of Public Services: A Case Study of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan" (2019). Honors Scholar Theses. 608. https://opencommons.uconn.edu/srhonors_theses/608 Decentralization and the Provision of Public Services: A Case Study of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan Abstract: The effective provision of public services is integral to a functioning democracy as it connects the public to the government and grants it legitimacy. Public services are ones that are provided by the federal and local governments and paid for with constituent taxes. Public services provided by the state are education, health, water/sanitation, environmental measures, security, policing, labor and legal guidelines and so on. Whether the structure of the government is centralized or decentralized is an important factor which impacts the provision of services. Decentralized governments are state or local governments which receive monetary and institutional resources from the federal government. Previous research has shown that decentralized services are more effectively delivered than centralized services. My study examines the impact of decentralization on the provision of two services, health and education, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from 2008-2018. There are two parts to the study. First, I will use process tracing to portray the historical context of decentralization in conjunction with sociopolitical factors of the region of KP. The second part observes the impact of decentralization on the health and education services. In this inductive study, I expect to find a positive impact of decentralization on the provision of services. Mishaal Afteb Honors Scholar Thesis Advisor: Professor Betty Hanson Major: Political Science Afteb 2 Acknowledgments: During the arduous process of conducting research, collecting data, and writing, I had help from more than a few people. Professor Betty Hanson has been the ultimate guide for me during the entire process, from which sources to look at to which sentence structure leads to the most effective meaning. While being her student in her South Asia in World Politics class and taking an independent study with her during my last semester of my junior year, I was able to discover my interests related to Pakistan. I had spent the summer of 2017 in Pakistan trying to figure out what my research interests are but was able to go again to Pakistan in 2018 with a clearer research goal, thanks to the guidance provided by Professor Hanson. Additionally, Professor Jennifer Sterling-Folker’s insight and feedback greatly helped me in enhancing my writing and research. Her Senior Seminar class helped develop my thoughts into flowing arguments. My research would not have been possible without my travels to Pakistan for the past two years. Here, I had the guidance of family that helped facilitate my research and stay. From traveling to universities in the hot summers during the month of Ramadan to bringing me to the most popular sites in the area, I would like to thank the following: Shahzad Aziz, Farhat Shahzad, Palwasha and Qasim Qureshi, Sumbla Yousafzai, Raza Sher Khan, Tasmia Yousafzai, Mohib Qureshi and Khurram Baig. Additionally, I am thankful for the interactions I had with Government Postgraduate College No.1 Abbottabad, COMSATS Abbottabad, and Hazara University Mansehra. Lastly, I would like to thank my immediate family, especially my sister, Mahnoor and my grandmother, Saeeda Chaudhry, for assisting me in my travels. Without all of you my research would not have been possible. Afteb 3 Introduction The effective provision of public services is integral to a functioning democracy as it connects the public to the government and gives it legitimacy. Public services are ones that are provided by the federal and local governments and paid for with constituent taxes. Public services provided by the state are education, health, water/sanitation, environmental measures, security, policing, and so on. The provision of services is important to study as it is essential for all constituents of a nation and especially in aspiring democracies that are struggling to form effective institutions. Whether a government centralizes or decentralizes its services can affect its impact. When services are decentralized, state or local governments receive monetary and institutional resources from the federal government. Decentralized governments involve constituents in government processes more than centralized governments because of the closer location of government institutions. Additionally, each province or state has institutional resources to plan according to the needs of the people, as compared to centralized governments which makes decisions at the core. Research has shown that decentralized services are more effectively delivered than centralized services. Arguments pertaining to the effectiveness of decentralized services will be applied to a region in Pakistan to see if it holds true in that case. This study will focus on the impact of decentralization on the provision of services in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan from 2008-2018. The services of health and education will be the prime focus because the region struggles with them and there is lack of literature on these services. I argue that decentralized services are beneficial through the case study of KP. Next, I will briefly analyze how decentralization applies to my case study. The region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is ethnically diverse and plagued with problems related to terrorism and corruption. Decentralization in KP has been a continuous effort since the Afteb 4 early 2000s, after the nation enacted decentralization reforms under military law. Decentralization in the region is a form of governance which aims to facilitate the delivery of services despite those issues. By dividing KP into districts, resources are to be distributed equally and more effectively. This is because there is less reliance on the central government for funds and more power in the hands of the local governments. This decentralized system allows the constituent to become closer to the government and demand accountability in terms of public services. The physical proximity of government additionally reduces the security problems constituents face. For example, in regions with terrorism or unsafe conditions, constituents are unable to reach the central government regarding services. In local government systems the constituent has certain institutions in proximity that represents his rights. After having conceptualized decentralization and its importance in the region of interest, I will next discuss what this means for the rest of my research. It is imperative to see what is at stake in KP Pakistan in terms of decentralized services and why this topic is of significance particularly for this region. During my foreign study in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, particularly the district of Abbottabad, there was an increased focus on decentralization to improve health and education services within the region. Particularly, the change in health and education services from the first time I went in 2017 to 2018 was notable with new public hospitals and public universities. Having the chance to visit institutions that represent health and education services, I came across people who were more than happy to support the new public hospitals and education institutions. KP is a region that has been neglected in the past particularly due to its diversity which made it more difficult to govern. With decentralized services the region seems to function in an efficient and responsible manner. Afteb 5 My interactions during two years has led me to believe that decentralized services are an important component for the citizen of Pakistan. My study will attempt to explore this. The first part of my study will analyze and engage with previous works regarding the central themes of the provision of services, decentralization and decentralization in Pakistan. From the literature review the following two conclusions will be reached: decentralization is not portrayed in a larger context and decentralized services such as health and education have not been studied enough to demonstrate the impact. The larger context of decentralization considers the sociopolitical factors of the region of interest, KP Pakistan. This literature review provides a foundation leading to the research design. Within the research design I will discuss the mixed methods methodology of historical process tracing and statistical analysis. The first part will utilize historical process tracing in analyzing decentralization in a larger context by taking the sociopolitical factors of Afghan refugees and sectarian/religious violence, into account. The second part will be a statistical analysis in analyzing the services of health and education in KP from 2008-2018. Prior to discussing the literature, I will provide a brief background into the case study of Pakistan and then discuss why democratic regimes are better in the provision of services as compared